Hey Dark Gothic Lolita here!
So yes, this in fact the FINAL chapter to this story! There will be no epilogue because I don't feel like making one lol. Use your imagination to think about what happened afterwards. I apologize if it also seemed a little rushed as well.
This has been a nice run, writing this. I started this on the same day as 'For what I am, not who I am' yet I'm finishing this later lol. Oh well, now it's done. You know what this means now, don't you? One old story down, maybe ONE new story might show up around here! Oh I might want to push my old stories out of the way.
I've found a new motivation to just try and complete the old stories lol. Anyway! I don't own Fairy Tail or their characters! I apologize in advance for any poor grammar and spelling. Like this chapter was pretty long, so expect mistakes lol.
Cinderella's best friend
Chapter seven
The next few weeks went flying by and Juvia hadn't been ready to let her sister go back to their home just yet. Jellal would drop by most days to spend time with his sisters, but other than that, he too had gone back to his old life as he needed to work. He also had to plan his speech for the wedding. He had no idea what he was going to say, after all he missed a big chunk of her life.
While they were all having breakfast, a butler came in and bowed.
"I'm sorry to disturb your breakfast, but Miss Lockser, there is someone here to see you."
Gajeel looked up at her and she shrugged at him and the rest of them at the table. She was curious, but she wanted to it alone. She hadn't really made that many friends over here in the country for them to come calling for her, so she was surprised.
"Don't worry Gajeel-kun, there will be security protecting Juvia." She gave him a peck on the lips and he nodded, letting her go. She followed the butler down the hallway and up to the front door. She saw a figure crouched over in one of the seats and there were security everywhere, making sure they didn't try anything funny.
"Um, hello?"
The person looked up and Juvia jumped back. "M-mother?!"
Her face was covered in tears and it looked like she hadn't been eating or sleeping well. Her face had sunken in and her hands looked boney. As much as Juvia hated to admit it, her mother had been a beautiful woman and now she was nothing but a shell of her former self. Her hands quickly wiped away her tears as she stood up and bowed in deep respect, something that got Juvia stuttering.
"Juvia! Or soon to be Princess Juvia!"
"Mother...what is mother doing here?"
The woman broke down, her body falling to the floor, her hands flew to her face to hide her shame. Juvia was by her side at an instant, helping her up and wiping away her tears the best she could. She hated seeing her like this. As much as the woman had been evil to her, this was still her mother.
"Juvia, I've been a terrible person! How can you even stand to look at me, touch me or help me?! I've been wicked, falling for Lucy's step mother's words! Apparently I had been charmed, but that's not an excuse for the way I treated you! You know, I've been seeking medical help. Why did I treat you like that? I don't know. But I have sold the house and I have shared out the money between you all in your accounts."
Juvia was in tears, the same state as her mother. "Mother, why?"
"Because, I blamed you for everything when nothing was your fault. I hurt you physically, emotionally and mentally. How dare I?! So of course, I checked myself into a mental unit back at home."
"No mother, please, come and live here with Juvia."
The young woman was sobbing as her mother shook her head, a sad smile on her face as she stroked her daughter's hair. Juvia was on her knees in front of her mother and it reminded her of a time when her mother taught her how to sew and she would watch the detail that her mother would put into her work. Her hatred for her mother left in an instant.
"My child," her mother whispered. "I love you so much, but I haven't shown it to you for the past seven years. Can you believe that as soon as you left, it was like I was coming back to my senses? I overheard one of Lucy's step sisters talking, saying how now Juvia is gone, I will be nothing and then their mother will charm me once more to pass over all the money to her and none of my children. But my love for my child should be stronger than any charm."
"So it wasn't even mother's fault! Please mother, let us take care of you here. Juvia doesn't hate mother and as soon as Juvia explains it to Gajeel-kun, Juvia is sure he will let mother stay!"
The woman burst out crying once more. "I called you a slut, a whore! My own daughter, a whore when she is not! How can you still love me?"
"Because mother made Juvia. Juvia will always love mother."
"But I made you and I hated you for seven years."
"That was because of black magic! Juvia wants mother to be present at the wedding. No room for arguments."
Juvia then started crying again as she hugged her mother who held onto her for dear life. The woman was mumbling her apologies and Juvia dismissed every single one of them, claiming she has already forgiven her. She thought that she would never need her mother again, and that all her evil will never make her forgive her, but seeing her lose herself like this, she didn't want this to happen. She still had love for the woman.
"Juvia my child. Please let me go."
"No. If Juvia does, mother will claim she will think of the offer and Juvia will-" she choked. "-Find mother dead!"
There was a look of shock on her mother's face as she looked away guiltily and Juvia couldn't bear knowing that she was right about what her mother wanted to do. She sighed. "You know me too well child."
They were silent as they did nothing but hug one another. Juvia's mother let out a sigh. "My baby girl is all grown up. I remember when I first held you. You were the smallest baby out of the three of you. I was so scared to hold you, thinking I would break you. You were like a doll, my little treasure. When you went missing, I was so scared for you. When your father went to look for you, Lucy's step mother came round, offering cookies. You know me, I'm a nervous eater and I ate a whole batch. I think Jellal ate around three of the next one and Wendy was asleep, so she didn't get any."
Juvia was quiet the whole time. There were some people who dabbled in both white and black magic. Clearly, Lucy's stepmother had been one of the black magic users herself. It was a common practice that got you killed when you were found out.
"So mother was bewitched."
"Yes, my child. But that is no excuse."
"Mother, please."
That was when Gajeel came in to see why Juvia was taking so long. He was taken aback when he saw her mother and his eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything because when he took a closer look at her face, she looked quite ill. Plus, Juvia seemed to want to be in her presence. Juvia stood up and called the butler in.
"Is it okay is Juvia's mother gets a place to stay?"
"Why yes of course, she is your mother! We shall set up a room right away."
"Thank you! Where are mother's things?"
"I sold them! I told you, I sold everything to leave aside for you children."
Juvia bit her lip in frustration. Her mother wasn't planning on going to a hospital at all. She was planning on robbing herself of her own life and leaving everything behind, in act of a will. Juvia hated how well her mother had planned everything out.
"Then we shall buy some things later on. Please, take her to a room."
Her mother tried to argue but Juvia wasn't listening to her. She looked up at Gajeel who was staring at her. She knew she had to explain the situation. "Lucy's stepmother works with black magic and she turned Juvia's mother as well as Jellal against Juvia."
Gajeel didn't even need any more explanation. There were many people that he knew who did black magic, including his home tutor, Jose, the guy who taught both him and Rogue. Obviously he was found out and killed. Black magic was evil and a nuisance, there was no room on earth for it.
"If that's the case, then what are we going to do about that woman then? I have no proof and I can't do anything because it's not in my kingdom. I'll probably talk to Natsu about it. Get his guards onto it or something."
He then looked down at her and saw her tear stained face. Gajeel never knew how to comfort someone, especially if it was a girl, but he knew that he was going to have to learn to do so with Juvia. He hated seeing her so upset and she looked perfect with a smile not with tears.
He sighed as he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. She tried to smile, but she couldn't really bring herself to do so. "How are you taking this news?"
"Pretty badly actually. Juvia always thought that Juvia's mother hated her because she killed father. Juvia should be happy that Juvia's mother really does love her, but then about Lucy's stepmother, Juvia doesn't know why she would have done such a thing. Juvia doesn't really know what to do."
"You're going to go and get Wendy and Jellal, then you're all going to have to talk to her I guess. I'm pretty shit with feelings and stuff, even if I am sappy. I've never been in this situation."
Juvia giggled a little bit and punched his arm softly. "Juvia thought she already told Gajeel-kun before, she hates his cursing."
"And I thought that I told you before as well, I don't take orders, Princess." He nipped at her ear making her laugh, her sadness now forgotten. "Anyway, you didn't finish breakfast, so let's go back. I bet you're starving."
"Well yes, but Juvia also guesses that Gajeel-kun isn't satisfied with the two plates he already ate."
"...it's not my fault my chefs are fucking amazing."
He grinned when he got a harder punch to the arm, much like the slap he had received upon meeting her in the streets back in Fiore.
When Juvia had called Jellal, telling him that it was an emergency, he wasn't expecting to see his mother there at all. He had been shown to the room that Juvia and Wendy were in and when he stepped in, he saw a woman with light blue hair and light blue eyes. The woman named Aquarius Lockser was seated in the chair, looking as unhealthy as ever. Although he was angry at the way his mother had made him hate his own younger sister, she was still his mother.
"Mum? You look awful, what's going on?"
The woman looked so tired, so Juvia had to explain it. Jellal's eyes kept on widening the further on the story went. It was understandable though. He had eaten a few cookies and because their mother was a comfort eater, she had eaten one of the batches that their neighbour had made. It explained why they were angry with Juvia.
"Okay, so she's into black magic. Why did she make us hate Juvia above all people? I mean, am I not the heir to the family?"
Aquarius shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know son, I just don't know. That woman must have been adamant on splitting this family apart. Anyway, the last I saw of her, her and her daughters were being led away for an execution. I think she ran a little mad and she confessed to everything, you know, the way all the sorcerers do. Then it was like everything came tumbling down on me. Her execution is yet to take place from what I heard."
Her face scrunched up as she started crying. The three of them wrapped her in a hug as she sighed and tried to stop, a sob getting caught in her throat at the same time. "I know you guys don't see it as my fault, but I still think it is! The stress of knowing that just because of food, I almost tore this family apart! I should have been strong and held us together after your father died and I was just a subject of black magic."
"Mother, please. We're going to get you back on track okay? Pick where you want to live, either here or with me, but mother please, don't check yourself into a mental hospital."
"No Jellal-nii, Juvia thinks mother will need therapy. With the way she's not listening to us, she's going to need a more professional help to get her back on track, but she can live with us. Maybe spend a month with Juvia here, then with Jellal-nii. Looks like Wendy herself will be moving here too."
The two older siblings glanced down at their younger sister and found that she looked quite shell shocked as she stared at her mother's grey like skin and her sunken face. It scared her to see her mother. Jellal nudged her and she jumped while Juvia raised an eyebrow at her sister's weird behaviour.
"You okay there?"
"Yes Jellal-nii, I'm just fine, just surprised. But...I don't want to leave Chelia and Meredy. I want to still live with them."
Juvia looked down at her sister and nodded her head, understanding it quite fine. "Juvia understands, it's quite hard to move countries all of a sudden, Juvia and Jellal know the pains of it. What about Romeo?"
Wendy went red and Jellal snickered while Juvia was smirking. That caught their mother's attention as there was suddenly a glint in her eyes, one that screamed playful mischief.
"Oh, so Wendy has a boyfriend?"
"MUM!"
"Yes, and Juvia can show mother who it is!"
"Can we go now?!"
"Guys, he's not my boyfriend!"
"Yeah I think we should go now, that way I can scare him."
"Oh look at my little boy, looking after his little sister. Do you think he's been given 'the talk' yet?"
"Juvia should hope so!"
"GUYS HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"
The three of them stopped to look at the youngest before they burst out laughing. Wendy was stood there, fuming as her face had gone red, not in anger, but pure embarrassment because it's true, she does have a crush on the young boy.
"Oh honey, we're just kidding! You can show me him later though, I'm starving and I'm tired. Crying really takes out a lot of one."
They watched as she tried to stand up, but because she was so weak, she fell straight back on the bed again, almost panting. "Oh dear me, it looks like I won't be getting up from the bed today! Haha, I'll just sleep."
Fear seized them as they shook her to try and keep awake. She glared at the three of them as they flinched back in fear of the motherly glare. "What?! I'm tired, allow me to rest!"
"Mother, you know we can't do that?"
"Why on Earth not?!"
"Because mother..." Aquarius glanced up at Juvia. "We're scared you'll pass away in your sleep. We...we don't want you to die, especially because now mother is coming to Juvia's wedding. Let us call a doctor to make sure you're okay before you sleep, okay?"
Tears sprung up to her eyes but she held them in, sick and tired of crying. She sighed loudly and nodded her head a little bit. "Okay, go ahead and call the doctor, if it will put your precious minds to rest."
Juvia smiled a little as she grabbed for the phone on the bedside table and proceeded to call the royal family's doctor. "She said she'll be down in a minute. Luckily, she's visiting because she's the Dreyer's doctor, but she has to get some ingredients from here."
Aquarius nodded her head. "I love you all, you're my precious babies."
"MOTHER, YOU'RE NOT DYING!"
Aquarius laughed at her son. "I know I'm not, I'm just saying! I wish your father were still alive to see how great his children are. If he were still alive, I wouldn't have been so evil, I wouldn't have been charmed! I just want you to know how much I love you and how sorry I am."
"Mother, it's okay."
Juvia stroked her mother's hair. Their father had had half red, half white hair and dark skin, but surprisingly, they had all come out looking more like their mother. Aquarius had light blue hair, but their hair was more dark. Juvia smiled in memory of her father and how much their parents loved each other.
"I remember there was a time when your grandmother wanted me to marry your father due to how close he was with the Prince, who was Gajeel's father at the time. My mother told me he was rich and how I would be settled for life if I caught his attention. I did. I lured him in with the mermaid dance I learnt at my dance school as well as my siren like voice. I found out how much of a great guy he was and I fell in love with him. Trouble was, his sister had found out I was only in it for the money and told me to leave him. That was before I fell in love with him. I had to soon tell your dad everything before he found out in the worst way possible, but he told me he still loved me anyway."
"Then your aunt started saying stuff like how Juvia was a lot like her and that everyone should watch out before I start hating my own daughter. Maybe your aunt dabbled in black magic herself? I don't know, thank Kami THAT woman is dead."
She smiled as she said this and Juvia realised why her mother hated her aunt quite a bit. She was going to try and make her father fall out of love with her mother and then she started spreading rumours.
"Then these three beautiful children came along and instead of loving them, we decided to move in next door with a witch. Fantastic," she said with heavy sarcasm. The three of them laughed as there was a knock on the door.
Gajeel soon walked in with a pink haired lady behind him. "Good morning, my name is Porlyusica. I hope the three of you don't mind, but I'll need to speak to your mother. I'll call you all when I'm done for I need to do tests on her."
They nodded as they shot their mother a scared look while she smiled gently to reassure them. Gajeel grabbed Juvia's hand without looking at her and squeezed it to comfort her. She let out a sigh and let his arm wrap around her. She felt secure and safe with him by her side. She felt like her mother was going to be okay.
"Porlyusica and her older twin sister are my Aunts. Grandeeney is the Queen of Caelum and they're all good at healing out there. Trust me, your mum is in good hands."
"Why does this have to happen?"
"I don't know, but imagine if it didn't, we wouldn't be here right now. I'm still pissed that that woman got away with the black magic for seven years, but I'm happy that we're here now, right?" Juvia nodded her head as she kissed his cheek.
"Gajeel-kun is soooo in love with Juvia!"
"What?! Yeah, because you're not in love with me right?"
Juvia stuck her tongue out at him and smirked as he bit the tip of her tongue, making her yelp in slight pain. She pulled away from him and covered her mouth in surprise, not thinking that he would have ever do that to her.
"What was that for?!"
He smirked at her, his eyes glinting and she shivered. Every time he looked at her like that, it set something off in her body. She didn't know what it was, but she did know that it was a pleasant feeling, one that she liked to feel over and over again.
"Juvia will get Gajeel-kun back for that one."
She was in his arms once more as he literally caged her there. He gave her a feral grin as she tried to move away and out of his hold while laughing. "Oh yeah? And what are ya gonna do to me, water girl?"
Just as they were about to share a kiss, Jellal pushed them away from each other making Gajeel fly off to the left and swear and Juvia flew off to the right, a glare as bad as their mother's staring Jellal down.
"Do you know how disgusting it is to see your little sister about to have a snogfest with your soon to be brother-in-law?"
"Clearly Jellal-nii doesn't know how disgusting it for both Wendy and Juvia to watch him kiss the hell out of Erza-chan, yet Juvia has never complained, so stop complaining!"
"What are you talking about, you have no right to complain, I'm older than you!"
Gajeel then jumped into the conversation. "What kind of fu-messed up logic is that?!" He almost swore, but he had to keep himself because Wendy was standing right there, enjoying how this fight was turning out, she was laughing her head off.
"Well my little sister is supposed to be innocent!"
"Says the guy who's tainting some guy's daughter. Hypocrite!"
"Guys! Let's stop this! Jellal-nii has no right to stop the romancing between Gajeel-kun and Juvia, while Gajeel-kun should stop calling Jellal-nii names that we all already know are true."
"Thank you! WAIT, WHAT?!"
"But it's true!"
"Okay, fine let's stop!"
The three of them stopped only to hear Wendy finally stop laughing and she wiped her tears away from her eyes. "Oh man, you guys! That was hilarious."
"Romeo."
Wendy's jaw dropped at the one name that Juvia used to single handedly crush her insides with her heart beating fast and the blood pumping to her face.
"Touche."
"Juvia is going to get some food for mother. Let's go Gajeel-kun, you still owe Juvia a kiss that was so rudely interrupted." He laughed his weird laugh before letting Juvia drag him down the corridor and back down to the dining hall where they had left Rogue and Levy.
"Juvia can't wait for the wedding now, everything is going to be juuuust great! Mother doesn't hate Juvia, so she can come, Juvia is going to surprise Lucy-chan with the wedding news and Juvia is getting married to the one that she loves! Nothing can go wrong now!"
"Don't jinx it."
"Juvia didn't. Gajeel-kun did by telling Juvia not to jinx it."
"Alright, alright. Now do I get ta kiss ya?"
Juvia turned around and when she couldn't see her brother in sight, she nodded her head while Gajeel smirked. "Good." He held her waist tight and brought her closer to him, grabbing ahold of her lips with his and he pushed against her, making her moan softly. She wrapped her arms around her neck and he lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his torso. He pushed her up against the wall, suddenly there was an unleashed force of passion between the two of them.
She ran her hand through his hair and when his tongue roamed in her mouth, she smirked, getting him where she wanted him. She bit down on his tongue and jumped down from her position as he too yelped and jumped back. She laughed and quickly ran as he was nursing his tongue back to health.
"GRRRR! JUUUUUUVIAAAAAA!"
"JUVIA LOVES GAJEEL-KUN TOO!"
~x~
"Your mother had a high fever and she was losing iron in her blood in large amounts. I forgot to ask her, but she was a victim of black wasn't she?"
"Yes, she was."
"Ah, it was extremely obvious. The woman who did it was a strong one and the thing is, I think I know who it was. Was this woman named Kyoka by any chance?"
Juvia and Wendy's eyes went wide as they nodded and looked back at Porlyusica. The woman scowled and mumbled under her breath. "I thought as much. You see, she was practising to become a white witch, but love overtook her and turned dark. The person who she loved convinced her to turn to black magic. We were going to execute her, but she fled the country, thinking that the one she loved would follow in suit, but he did not. He's dead now anyway. Now that we know her whereabouts, we can finally kill her. I'll tell my brother to do something about her quickly. I want her dead. Anyway, your mother will be fine after two days of rest. As strong as Kyoka is with her magic, she is still very weak because the effects were reversible. If she were strong, it would have taken up to a month for her to heal if I were the one to do it. Don't worry, I'll execute Kyoka myself. I'll also have to get rid of her daughters because knowing her, she would have passed it onto them. But please, enjoy your day."
"Mother already told us that her and her daughters have been taken away to be executed, but she hasn't been. She went mad and they've kept her locked up."
Porlyusica nodded her head. "Then I shall head over there as quickly as possible to make sure that it's done then. That woman and her children, who are the spawn of Mard Geer must die by my hands."
The woman smiled and left. Wendy watched on with excitement. "I want to learn white magic."
Juvia sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "Why is Juvia not surprised that Wendy-chan has gone said that? It's not up to Juvia, it's up to mother." Wendy's face turned sour, knowing their mother might not let her.
"Okay fine, I'll wait until I'm 18 and I'll just do it myself."
"Juvia thinks mother might actually say yes. Plus, didn't Chelia always want to learn it as well? Maybe when you go back, Juvia can take you both there, and Juvia can learn as well! Anyway, let's leave mother. Juvia will have a maid check in on her." She laid a kiss on her mother's head as she left some food by the bedside.
"Jellal said that Erza called him regarding some important news so he had to dash off."
Juvia nodded and cautiously stepped out of the room, knowing fully well that Gajeel will be there, waiting for her and he will pounce. She was slightly shocked when he wasn't. "Well I'm off, I'm going to see Romeo! DON'T SAY ANYTHING!"
Juvia's cheeks puffed out as she tried her best not to comment on what her little sister was going to do. The girl skipped down the corridor and that was when Gajeel came jumping out of nowhere. Juvia screamed as she threw her hands up in the air and spun around on the spot. Gajeel laughed so hard as he watched her freak out.
"GAJEEL-KUN ALMOST GAVE JUVIA A FUCKING HEART ATTACK!"
His jaw dropped as he burst out laughing even harder than before. Juvia was fuming as her hands flew to her hips, tapping her foot against the marble floor, wondering when he was going to calm down. When he finally did, he was wiping away tears that were stinging his eyes.
"First off, can I just say, AMAZING reaction! I've never seen anything like it!"
Juvia gave him a sarcastic smile as he carried on. "Secondly, you hypocrite, you just swore at me."
Juvia gave him a cute little confused expression as her face turned with horror. "JUVIA DID DIDN'T SHE?! SHE'S NO BETTER THAN GAJEEL-KUN! JUVIA IS NOW TRASH!"
"Hey! I'm gonna let that one go because you made me laugh soooo fucking hard! Man I love you!" He grabbed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head and barked out a laugh when she pushed him away roughly.
"The feeling isn't mutual right now."
~xTime skip three monthsx~
Juvia sat in the horse drawn carriage as it pulled her along to the church. Everyone was shouting and waving, trying to get a peep at the girl who would soon be coronated as the Princess as well as wife to Prince Gajeel. She smiled slightly, trying not to let her nerves get the better of her. Wendy sat by her side, wearing a light pink dress. Juvia was evil enough to make Romeo the ring bearer and because she wanted all the girls to be partnered up, Romeo was partnered with Wendy, Levy with Rogue and Jellal with Erza.
Lucy had also been staying at the Palace for the last two nights and Juvia had made sure to hide from her friend and gave the maids and butlers a specific rule that they shouldn't mention her name to Princess Lucy or give her a service sheet until after Lucy had seen her stand up at the alter. She wanted to give her friend a big surprise.
The carriage stopped and as they all got out, the bells to the huge cathedral started ringing. It alerted everyone on the inside that they were there. Juvia knew that her mother would be inside, sitting right at the front crying, so she made sure that Lucy got in a seat where she wouldn't be able to recognise her mother.
"Juvia, are you ready? Don't be nervous, trust me, it will go well."
Juvia nodded at Erza and smiled. The woman was pregnant, but because she was only three months along, the bump was yet to be seen. Juvia grinned and the photographer started snapping a few pre-wedding pictures before they headed in. The Priest stood in front of them, getting them in a line and chattering away. Juvia was barely listening. All she knew was that she was about to get married to Gajeel and she loved the idea of that.
"Okay, let's head in. Jellal is waiting by the door, so just loop arms with him when you get there, the bridesmaids will go in first, but led in by Wendy because technically, she's the flower girl." Juvia knew that Wendy was too old, but she didn't care. Wendy was her little sister and she was the right person for the job. Besides, who else was she going to pair Romeo up with?
As soon as she got in, everyone stood up, the organ blared out the Bridal march and Jellal caught his sister's arm as they walked on through slowly behind all the bridesmaids. They were all admiring the dress that she wore and their eyes popped out when they saw the amount of diamonds on her bracelet that more or less covered her whole forearm.
"I can't believe you're getting married! My little sister is all grown up!"
"Hey, Juvia can't believe that Jellal-nii got married too and Juvia wasn't even invited. Jellal-nii grew up without us."
"Yeah, yeah, you ever gonna let that go?"
"Probably not. Juvia is no more a Lockser after this, she'll be a Redfox. Juvia Redfox. Hmm, has a nice ring to it."
"Sounds disgusting." He grunted when Juvia elbowed him harshly in the gut. He laughed a little bit under his breath. "I'm kidding baby sister."
"Juvia isn't a baby anymore."
"That's where you're wrong. You'll understand when you have your own kids, that's what mother keeps on saying... Gross, you're gonna have kids with Gajeel!"
"Stop being so childish and let's hurry up and give Juvia away, okay? Glad we're on the same page here!"
They finally got up to the altar and Gajeel turned around wearing a white suit, hands in pockets. His eyes landed on Juvia as they went wide. She had her hair up in the most elegant bun and the tiara that his mother had worn at her wedding sat on top of her head. Her eyes were almost like crystals as she came and stood next to him. Her hand found his and he could feel her trembling as they looked at one another, her face turning a soft shade of pink.
"Who gives this woman away?"
"I do."
Jellal sounded bold, but then again, he had had his wedding already, he knew what to do. Besides, it wasn't his wedding for him to be nervous at. Juvia holding Gajeel's hand was the most soothing thing that he could do for her right now. The Priest went on with the greetings suddenly, he asked a question that sent the couple internally panicking.
"If anyone knows of any reason why these two may not be lawfully married, you are to declare it now, or forever hold your peace."
The couple looked out and behind them to make sure that no one so much as breathed wrong. Gajeel's red eyes flashed when he thought he could see Bora moving, but the guy didn't do anything. No one said anything.
"Great! Let us then continue on with the vows. Hold each other's hands and face one another. Now Gajeel, you'll go first. Repeat after me. I Gajeel Redfox."
Gajeel stared into the eyes of the girl who was literally going to be his wife within the next five minutes and he gave her a smirk to show her that everything was going to be okay. He made sure he didn't look away from her when he said the vows and when it was her turn, she didn't look away from him either. They had been preparing for this moment and it meant a lot to the both of them.
Romeo soon came up with the rings, and the Priest took them before blessing them. He gave one to Gajeel who said his own promises and Juvia said hers. Then the Priest smiled at them.
"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Gajeel grinned and tugged at her waist to pull her closer to him.
"Hey watergirl."
She threw her arms around his neck with a smile of her own as she closed the remaining gap between the two of them. "Hey metal head."
They both shared a slow kiss that sent the whole audience into a frenzy. Juvia could hear all sorts of shouting, crying and cheering. It was the best moment of her life and she was so excited. Gajeel pulled away slowly from her as they moved on to do the signing of the documents and have pictures taken of them for all different kind of lacrimanews papers and the lacrimanet. It was bigger than Natsu's wedding because in all honesty, who thought that Gajeel was going to settle down? Actually, who thought Natsu would settle down as well? Well they both had big weddings in general.
They led out the group by walking down the aisle together and the bridesmaids with Gajeel's company as their partners. Juvia saw Lucy's face as she literally screamed at her that they had so much to talk about. Juvia looked at her mum who was finally looking healthy after all those hellish months of being depressed. The woman was back to her normal self and was in tears as her daughter was now married off.
They sat in the carriage that Juvia came in together while everyone got into another carriage and their entourage followed behind them. All the guests started making their own way there to make sure that they had grabbed a seat before the couple came in.
Juvia's eyes were sparkling as she looked out of the window, waving at everyone. She smiled at them all and Gajeel couldn't help but smile at his wife's childish behaviour. Wife. He liked the sound of that. He grabbed her hand which turned her attention away from the people and she looked at him instead. He could see the happiness in her eyes.
"It's official now ain't it? We're husband and wife for real now."
She smiled at nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Yes, it's official now. Juvia still can't believe it. Juvia is still to get used to the fact that this isn't actually a dream and that it's very much real. Juvia thanks Gajeel-kun for making this possible, for loving Juvia."
She brought her face closer to his, and as she spoke, Gajeel was staring at her lips, her own warm breath dancing on his. He looked back up into her eyes and he smirked at her.
"Why of course, anything for my Princess right?"
Juvia laughed and slowly closed the gap between them. Gajeel pushed her down on the seat so that she was lying on her back and he kissed her hard. She moaned into his mouth and he could feel himself getting hard right there and then. They could hear the people shouting in joy as they could literally see into their carriage and peep at what they're doing.
Gajeel stopped mid kiss and Juvia blushed as they soon realised that and they both pulled apart with Gajeel pulling her up so that she could sit down properly. He smirked at her facial expression of literally being caught and he shrugged at her.
"What can I say? It's all your fault, you're so damn irresistible. I just can't wait for our honeymoon."
Juvia blushed even harder, knowing exactly what he meant. "Where are we even going, Gajeel-kun never told Juvia."
"To my Aunt's Kingdom, Caelum. You'll get to meet my Aunt Grandeeney when we go out there, but her and Aunt Porlyusica don't look alike, so don't feel like you know what she looks like."
Juvia nodded. "Okay, well Juvia is going back to waving at the people now. Give the people what they love!"
"And what they love is seeing us get it on so that an heir can-oof!"
She elbowed him in the gut to get him to shutup. Gajeel just laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and stared out at everyone as she waved out to them. She saw a few recognisable faces in the crowd and was even shocked to find Ur's family out there. Gray looked bitter and Juvia rolled her eyes at his attitude. His second best had now gone and married a Prince, boohoo to him.
"Ugh, now Juvia has to get changed. She can't wait, it's pretty hard moving around in this dress."
"I wouldn't even know where the zipper would be to take it off of you. I would have to act like a primate and rip it off of you to get to you. Gihihihih."
"Gajeel-kun! Gosh, you're so inappropriate sometimes!"
"Wrong, I'm inappropriate all the time."
Juvia rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing fully well that he would have gone and said that. She snuggled up close to him. Best friends from childhood yet here they are, married. She stared at the band on her finger. It was a simple gold ring, but she had seen the inscription inside. There were three dates. The date she left for Fiore, the date she met him again in Fiore and their wedding day. She kissed the side of his mouth and giggled. He was a really big softy.
~x~
"Personally, I think you should go over there and tell her to stop glaring daggers at you. I mean, is it necessary for her to be staring over here?"
Juvia let out a whimper as she clung onto Gajeel's arm, not wanting to look at who he was talking about. "Gajeel-kun is evil, there's a 100% Juvia will not come back from that conversation. Gajeel-kun just got married, does he want his wife to die before the honeymoon?"
Gajeel was about to reply, but the end half caught his attention. "You're screwed. And then the irony of it all will be that I'm also screwed even though if she kills you, we both wouldn't be getting any."
"Juvia knows! That's why she's stalling the conversation for as long as she can!"
"I still think you need to go and talk to her. Off you go."
Gajeel pushed her down from her seat and she shot lasers from her eyes at him. Well, in her imagination she did and he smirked at her, going back to what was on his plate. Juvia composed herself, saying hi to people on the way to this certain guest's table and took a few pictures with whoever wanted one with her.
"Lu-chan?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, you are?"
Juvia laughed nervously and Natsu kindly excused himself from the table, saying that he needed to go and say hi to all his cousins who were now crowded around Gajeel. Juvia wanted to jump on his legs and force him to stay, just in case his wife killed her and buried her before anyone could notice she was gone, but even Natsu wasn't stupid to Lucy's wrath.
Juvia sighed. It was time to get it over and done with. "Juvia knows that Lu-chan is mad for not telling her, but Juvia wanted it to be a surprise! Juvia means, it's crazy how we were both mistreated, yet we BOTH got to marry a Prince, right? Besides, Juvia didn't know how long Lu-chan was going to be away on her honeymoon or where the honeymoon even took place."
Lucy kept her angry look before it melted away and a smile took over her face. "Aww, Juvia-chan! I can't stay mad at you! I heard everything that happened between the ugly stepmother and your mother. I'm so sorry about that!"
"It's okay, mother is looking even better than before now, she really got her glow back!"
"Enough about that! So, how did you meet, like this big coincidence is just so weird! You know this means we're family right?! Oh my God we're like sisters! If you minus the fact that our husbands are actually cousins, we're pretty much sisters."
"We've always been sisters Lu-chan. Anyway, Juvia will tell you how it all happened."
The two of them were squealing throughout the whole story and Juvia caught sight of Levy. "Levy-chan! Come over and meet Juvia's friend! After all, Levy-chan needs to get to know the family."
Juvia flashed her other friend a wicked smirk and Levy debated whether she really wanted to get roped into that conversation or not. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled, heading towards them.
"So Levy-chan, this is Lucy-chan, Natsu's wife. Lucy-chan, this is Levy-chan and as much as she denies it, she is going to be Rogue's wife." Juvia snickered off to the side, finding it too funny and Lucy got up to hug her new friend.
"Nice to meet you Levy-chan! Gajeel must have quite an influence on Juvia if she's acting this way. I never thought I would see the day where she jokes about and likes to act like a prankster."
"Oh, it was even worse when we were kids because they were together like 24/7. If Gajeel pulled a prank on Juvia, the next day she had to one up him and it just kept on getting out of hand. They were literally on course for marriage since childhood basically."
It was Lucy and Levy's turn to laugh as Juvia blushed deeply, thinking of all the times her and Gajeel had fun. She looked over at him and found him grinning at the many cousins she had met, along with Rogue, his brother. There was Laxus and Sting, the two blond ones, Cobra was Grandeeney's son, Natsu was the Prince of her old homeland who actually had an older brother called Zeref but died when they were young. Their eyes caught one another's and Gajeel sent a smirk her way and she blushed once more, her neck turning an interesting shade of red.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?"
Everyone's heads shot up in the direction of the person talking. It was Jellal as he stood up on the stage with a microphone and everyone went silent, recognising him as Juvia's older brother. He shot everyone a grateful look and Erza held her thumbs up to him.
"Hey everyone, I'm Jellal Lockser, Juvia's older brother. I guess while I'm still feeling a little confident, I should say my speech now, right?" There were a few chuckles and some understanding murmurs of people who had to do a speech as well.
"Our family went through tough times, especially when we moved to Fiore and then we lost our dad. I was supposed to step up and be the man of the house, only I ran away as soon as I deemed it fit for me and I came running back here because I was scared of responsibility. I didn't realise how much I would miss of both my sister's lives. But I'll tell you what I remember of Juvia. Juvia has always had a big heart. She was mother's favourite, that's for sure. She was a manipulative little sister, knowing that she was daddy's princess. She had a caring streak though, until it came to Gajeel anyway. You could always tell that those two were made for one another."
Everyone started laughing except for Gajeel and Juvia themselves who were mentally making a note to suffocate him in his sleep, but then they didn't really feel like making his child an fatherless from the get go. Plus, Erza would murder them.
"If you saw the two of them, they were already acting like a married couple, it was hilarious. So that's why I'm not surprised that they're together now. Here's to them!"
He raised up his glass and so did everyone else as they clapped. His speech may not have been long, but it was excellent. It was then the King's turn to stand up for the talk.
"Gajeel Redfox. The older twin of my two sons. God he's a loose cannon."
"Hey!"
"Shut it brat!" That made everyone laugh and then King chuckled. "As I was saying, Gajeel has always been a loose cannon, not one to take orders from anyone, be it from me as his father or as the King. The kid needed a good spanking sometimes, but even then, it wasn't enough. Juvia was the only one able to tame him and unfortunately, she had left the country. You just knew that his teenage years were going to be hell. So when he came back from his cousin's wedding, claiming he has a fiance, you could imagine our surprise when we saw a girl who looked like Juvia walk in behind him, having him tamed already. We didn't think it was her, but later, our suspicions had been confirmed. Gajeel had been put back on his leash."
There was more roaring laughter that even Juvia had to join in with it. All of Gajeel's cousins were mocking him where he was sitting. He closed his eyes to bite back a groan. "All in all, Gajeel is a lot like me, nothing but a hothead who needs a woman to tame him. Rogue came out fine though, you would have thought Gajeel would take a few pointers from him, but unfortunately he didn't. That's why he's getting embarrassed by me now. But here's to my son, Gajeel and his beautiful wife, Juvia!"
Everyone gave the King a standing ovation as Juvia excused herself from her friends and headed over to Gajeel. She wanted to join in with the taunting, but Jellal stopped her. "It's time for the father daughter dance, but I guess we've had to change it to the brother sister one."
"Wow, is it that far into the night already?"
They headed down to the middle of the dance floor, Juvia's baby blue chiffon dress flowed around her as she followed her brother. She blushed heavily when she realised that everyone's attention was on her and her brother. The music started up and they started dancing a little.
"Well I guess it happened. Only one girl left in the Lockser family. That Romeo kid better get ready for a bit of hell."
"Lay off the boy, Jellal-nii...at least when Juvia's not there. Juvia wants to help too!"
The two of them spoke until she was twirled into someone else's arms. It was the King. "Thank you for making an honest man out of my son, Juvia. Again, my sincere condolences to your father. But thank you."
"It's nothing sir. Juvia loves Gajeel-kun, even if everything was sudden."
The man smiled at her and she had to dance with everyone of his cousins, much like Lucy had to do. Finally, she ended up in the arms of her loved one and her face brightened up. "Gajeel-kun."
"I can't believe those idiots actually wanted to dance with you. I didn't want to dance with Lucy."
"They were telling Juvia embarrassing stories."
"Figures." After a few minutes, everyone was invited down to dance, but Gajeel grabbed her hand and led her out. They were on a huge balcony and Juvia swore she could see the whole of Bosco by standing there.
"Finally, we're away from those stuffy people." He undid his tie and a few buttons before pulling her close to him. They were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company and looking out at the town below them. Juvia then grabbed Gajeel's left hand with her own left hand to stare at the identical rings that sat on their fourth finger.
"For life."
Juvia nodded her head, pushing back her tears. She never thought she would get married because she thought no one would love her. Weird how she forgot about the only person who she loved and they loved her back. Either way, everything that happened until now was all for the better. She pushed his head down gently to meet hers and she placed a kiss on his lips before smiling and replying back to him.
"For life."
And there you have it! The end of this wonderful story! Believe that this was supposed to be a brOTP but it came out like this lol. Oh well, we can't be choosers! Anyway, did you like what I did with Aquarius? I honestly couldn't bare her being the bad guy so I did that instead. It actually hurt me too much as a writer to leave the whole family kind of torn away from their mother like that. I'm a softy, so sue me.
But this means I can now focus on other stuff as well now!
Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Review if you loved it and if you're a guest reviewer, you will not be answered because I can't answer you lol. I always do try to encourage people to try and make accounts, like they're free and when you want to question an author, they can respond to you. Please, it kills me when I see a guest reviewer have like the best question ever or compliments and I can't respond!
Lolita-chan
